Claim for Possession of Property. Any advice please

toya_2

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can offer advice. I live in a privately rented property with my husband and young daughter. We have had problems paying our rent due to my husbands business being unprofitable. We have now been served with an N5 claim for possesion of property and currently owe 4 months rent.

For the sake of our daughter we would like to stay in the property at least until we can sort something else out. Ive tried accessing legal help but its hard. I need to work to pay the rent and need to be unemployed to have the time to access support.

The claim is on the basis of unpaid rent Grounds 8, 10 and 11. As I understand it we will be in a stronger position if we can get rid of ground 8 as this is mandatory and if I work hard and dont take time off (im a temp and new to it so i dont have holidays and im paid hourly) this should be possible.

I have contacted my landlord and offered to pay rent on time and £10 minimum per week to pay off the debt. He has not responded but I have kept to my agreement.

I have also managed to get an extra £450 together to start getting rid of the ground 8 mandatory order. If I can find another £300 we will have less than 2 months rent oweing

Sorry for the long post.
Any advice or experience of a similar situation would be fantastic. I am terrified that my daughter will be homeless.

Thank you in advance

Toya

clutton_2

if you are less than 8 weeks in arrears by the date of the court hearing, then the judge cannot order you to be evicted on Ground 8 alone. But - the fact that the LL has also included grounds 10&11 means that he is hoping to prove that you are an unreliable tenant, who pays late, and is in arrears a lot of the time and therefore that you are not a good tenant - these additional grounds may well prove enough for the judge to evict you even if Ground 8 no longer applies.

why have you not applied for housing benefit or working tax credit or council tax credit ?

its no good say that you dont have the time to sort this out - find the time.

A judge will see that your LL has been patient and given you twice the amount of time the law allows you to be in arrears before he has issued proceedings against you - he has waited till you are 4 months in arrears before issuing proceedings against you.


if you are repossessed due to rent arrears, the council will deem that you as a family will have made yourselves voluntarily homeless and you will not qualify for housing, other than maybe emergency hostel accommodation - which will really be squalid.

Why did you let things get to 4 months arrears ?

toya_2

Hi and thank you for your comments.

I fully understand that the situation is our fault and we should never have let it get so far out of control. It has gotten this bad due to my husband not being able to collect payment for works completed. I have found additional employment and began paying the landlord the moment my pay cleared in the account. I used to work for my husband.

Also I know that it is fair to say we have not been good tenants with regards to paying on time (we have been fine in all other areas being good neighbours, looking after the property etc). As I say we have tried to communicate with our LL without success.

I probably wasnt clear on my point regarding accessing advice. I was really asking if there are any outside normal working hours services. I have tried very hard over the last week to speak to someone. The only advice I could access was from shelter who are brilliant but referred me to a service that is only available whilst I am at work and if I dont work it's money out of my LL's pocket (I want to pay him eviction or no eviction). I tried calling on my lunch hours but I guess they have lunch at the same time. I can make more time but only with a reduction in pay and less chance of reducing my debt. Also messing my employer around may mean them asking my agency to send a different temp.

The only other advice I have recieved is strangley enough from a site manager that works on the estate my LL owns. He pointed out numerous problems with all of the properties my LL owns concerning the state of the properties and not meeting building regulations he suggested I probably have considerable defence for repairs ignored and not completed. I have made my landlord aware of problems but he did not carry out the repairs and urgent ones such as window frames breaking down we had to do ourselves to keep the building secure and to a reasonable living standard.

We have been granted £35 per week tax credits and were refused housing and council tax benefits based on my earnings of £170 per week.

My LL is finding it hard to rent his properties (there are numerous ones on the estate that are empty) This is mainly due to a bad reputation that he does not entirely deserve (as you say he has been patient). I can only hope that the judge will see that we are genuinely dedicated to staying in our home and in future making regular payments. My husband is also winding doen his business and looking for employment.

Thanks again for your comments and explaining some of the housing law. It was very kind of you to do so.

Regards,

Toya

tbs624

?Have you tried Community Legal Services? They are available 9-6.30pm M-F and 9-1pm on Sats They will call you back at a pre-arranged time, if necessary - see here.

Can your husband not help with phone calls? If he has his own business surely it would be easier for him to see to this?

Make sure that you keep all negotiations with the LL in writing, copies retained by you. If your offer to pay in instalments was a verbal offer, put it in writing now and refer to both the conversation and the date.

If you were wanting to make a complaint, and a possible counterclaim for repairs, you need to be able to show that all repairs issues were notified to the LL in writing. Are you able to do this?

You can get a fixed fee appointment with a local solicitor - the CLS link I gave you above can be used to find someone with LL& T experience in your area. Get help with filling in your defence, and make sure that you attend any hearing.

Has your LL complied on gas safety regs, tenancy deposit regs etc, if applicable?

toya_2

Hi
Thank you so much for the link I had not found that one I will get onto it on Monday as early as possible.

I know what your saying about my husband doing some calls etc. I really wish he would but he is terrified he wont get the information right and that he will mess everything up. He tried contacting shelter before I did and just clammed up. He also has diffuculty providing info from the forms we have recieved because he is very dyslexic and just cant read them particularly the legal bits. I think he is also humiliated. We have been living together since we were 16 and we have always paid our own way without problems.

All of my correspondance with the LL has been in writing as his office is only open 2 days a week and the phone is constantly engaged. I have kept a copy of my most recent offer to pay and confirmation that rent payment have resumed but was studpid and havent kept any of my other letters about repairs etc.

I know my fires are checked annually which is good as we only have one and no other heating but I dont know any of the laws regarding deposit regulations so I will research that straight away.

Thank you again so much for your help. I really appreciate the fact that both posters have been non-judgemental and have offered help and cleared up facts. I sort of expected to be told off for getting into this situation.

I just hope I can have the chance to prove that my situation has changed, that I am responsible but aware of how to rectify the situation and that I will never allow my daughter to be in this position again. I havnt told her yet. She is going to be devestated especially because the court date is her birthday.

Sorry for the long post and the irrlevant drivel at the end.

Thanks again x

clutton_2

i think that you both have to prioritise getting help and advice right now and finding out how best to proceed - and making time, even if it means earning a couple of hours less money is the only way forward.

if you are in arrears by one penny more than 8 weeks rent on court day, the judge has NO OPTION other than to award the landlord possession. He will give you 28 days to leave. If he grants possession on rent arrears you will then end up with a CCJ which will really screw up your life for 5 years

you are allowing your sentimentality over a birthday to cloud your judgement.

If your husband is capable of running his own business - he is capable to going to a SHELTER office and getting help for your family - Shelter are well used to helping all sorts of folks from different backgrounds. it is no good being ashamed - ACTION is what he needs to take

YOU cannot do this alone - get him shifted !!!!! - you can earn money right now - he cant get any money in - HE has to do his fair share of research into this and not leave it all to you


Can you pawn some jewellry, sell a car, collectables, borrow from freinds, family - sell stuff at boot fairs ? £300 cannot be that impossible a target - swallow your pride and get friends to help

good luck

toya_2

Your right it's just such a horrible catch 22 situation to be in. I know that I could absolutley loose our home even if I do find the money and I need to work to do that. I am also clueless and really need the help.

I think I will spend time with my husband tonight and tomorrow coaching him to make calls and sit down with my employer on Monday to explain the situation and ask for the time to make calls. Maybe they will understand and let me make up the time or log my time and take it off my lunch.

Im just scared they will ask my agency for a temp with less issues. They swapped the last temp because she took a day off to look after a sick child.

clutton_2

have you been issued wiht a Section 21 notice at any time ? if so, what dates are on it - and when did your tenancy start ?


dont go into court "armed" with Repairs issues - this is a clear cut non payment of rent issue, and judges dont like "cloudy" cases.

Work out a payment plan, do a spreadsheet and take it to court to show your incoming, yours outgoings, how much money is outstanding in your partners business, work out a Schedule showing how you plan to repay the arrears - a judge may be sympathetic - but as i said Section 8 and Section 21 notices are compulsory.

toya_2

Hi Clutton

Thanks so much for all of this help. I will give my other half a kick up the bottom I know I need to. A doctors visit probably wouldnt hurt either I think he may be depressed. (Not defending him just think if he needs help in this area getting it might make him more productive)

With regards to selling things and asking for help. Ive managed to get together £450 using a combination of these methods so I am getting there and should be able to get together the £300 but I have run out of people to ask and things to sell (Im afraid we didnt have much to start with) so hence needing to work as much as possible.

We have not recieved a section 21 notice and our tenancy began 05/09/2005.

Thanks again for sharing your time and knowledge and for keping me focused. Its a bit too easy to let irrelevant emotional stuff get in the way.

tbs624

toya wrote: »

Hi Clutton

Thanks so much for all of this help. I will give my other half a kick up the bottom I know I need to. A doctors visit probably wouldnt hurt either I think he may be depressed. (Not defending him just think if he needs help in this area getting it might make him more productive)

With regards to selling things and asking for help. Ive managed to get together £450 using a combination of these methods so I am getting there and should be able to get together the £300 but I have run out of people to ask and things to sell (Im afraid we didnt have much to start with) so hence needing to work as much as possible.

We have not recieved a section 21 notice and our tenancy began 05/09/2005.

Toya - have you got someone who can give you some moral support with all of this, because you sound as though you are carrying a pretty heavy load. You may want to take a look over on the other Boards - Up your Income, the benefits one and the Debt Free Wannabe. ( Maybe get your husband to do that so he can see that plenty of other people get into difficulty and manage to deal with it. )

With your daughter's birthday, you could just take the line that you are moving the celebration to another day to be able to spend more time with her. You don't say how old she is but you perhaps don't have to share your *full* situation with her just yet?

Clutton's point about having your finances prepared in advance of the hearing is an important one.

If you haven't already done so, write to the LL recorded delivery (keep the PO slip & a copy of your letter) and ask him for a Statement of your Rent Account, up to the current date. Check what your tenancy agreement says about any possible interest due on late rent and, when/if you get the Rent Statement, check the LL's records against your own. If for any reason your LL refused to accept any further payments put them aside into a separate account and , again, write confirming that you have done this.

As I said before, get help with filling in your defence statement and do make sure you get it in on time. Keep a photocopy for your own records. If you make an offer to pay off the arrears in instalments, make sure that its definitely an amount that you know you will be able to afford, because if you miss just one payment a LL can normally apply immediately for a Bailliff's warrant & eviction. It's better to state a smaller regular amount, and pay off extra when you can, than get it wrong.

On the side issues:
(a) you say that your tenancy began in 2005, which is before the tenancy deposits regs came in to force. However, if you have renewed for a new Fixed Term at any point *since* then your LL should have scheme registered your tenancy deposit. A LL cannot serve a valid S21 notice if a tenancy deposit should have been scheme registered and hasn't been.

(b)If any of the repairs issues have involved you spending your own money on sorting things that are very definitely the LLs responsibility, this can be taken into consideration but you do need to able to prove that this is the case - receipts, notifications to LL etc.

coffeedog

Hi,

On your income it sounds as if you would be eligible for Legal Help - A form of legal aid which lets a solicitor write letters etc for you. Your solicitor would be see you in the office, do telephone calls and letters for you. Most importantly, they will be able to write a letter to the court for your hearing , putting your position to the judge for you. you must attend the hearing also though

The legal help calculation is based on you last 4 weeks income.

You'd be best to get some help if you can.

If you can get rid of the arrears, anyway you can, it's highly unlikely a judge would order you out of your home.